Blockchain technology, a data management tool forecast to disrupt a wide range of industries, has taken off for two main reasons: 1) it makes sensitive data simultaneously more shareable and more secure; 2) it takes sensitive data out of the hands of third party authorities and puts it back into the hands of its users.... Read More

The most prevalent trends in journalism education for 2017 are far from monolithic. Social media's uses and limitations. Digital media's prominence in student newsrooms and J-School curricula. News literacy, or fake news, that warrants transparency and strengthened ethics.

Jana Craig-Hare et al. The Effect of Socioscientific Topics on Discourse within an Online Game Designed to Engage Middle School Students in Scientific Argumentation, Journal of Education in Science, Environment and Health (2017). DOI: 10.21891/jeseh.325783Amber Rowland et al. Social media: How the next generation can practice argumentation, Educational Media International (2017). DOI: 10.1080/09523987.2017.1362818

As teachers we frequently promote ourselves in our modern role as facilitators rather than knowledge owners and yet when we get into the classroom so much of what we do tends to be telling rather than asking.

Crowdsourcing information is about doing the opposite. It’s about collecting information from the room and beyond and enabling our students to share what they already know and develop their knowledge together.

Teaching online is a unique experience for faculty and students. Although I love the online environment for some courses, it does present its own challenges. One of those challenges is how to engage online students in activities that push them to go beyond simply reading, interpreting, and interacting. After all, the idea (in most cases) is that the student can apply their learning, knowledge, and skills in their respective fields of study. As such, we are constantly seeking ways to engage students in learning that goes beyond the “click-through” material.

In this article, I share a few ideas—starting with the simplest and working through some more complicated endeavors—that may assist you in bringing more engagement to your online classroom.

I understand why teachers ban phones or collect them. I get it. But I also know that banning phones can, in fact, limit student learning. Sure, there is the risk they'll spend more time playing a game or texting their friends. On the other hand, if you make the digital connections sufficiently engaging, they'll be texting or tweeting to tell their friends what a great class it's been and maybe even something about what they learned!

. . Curation: The 21st Century Way To Learn On Its Own Pace And To Organize THE Learning? Already since 2011 I use Curation for my learning and through it I built my "Professional Knowledge Management", called also PKM. But WHAT is Curation? First I was wondering about this new trend and was not sure…

When we started the intention was to make it distinct from the NMC New Horizon reports by focusing on pedagogy. I think, to be honest, in those early ones there was probably a technology focus still, but as it’s progressed it has really moved away from this to more pedagogy, socially focused issues.

1. Joint Research Centre the European Commission's in-house science service Blockchain in Education A study on the digital accreditation of personal and academic learning Andreia Inamorato dos Santos @aisantos Groningen, The Netherlands 5th September 2017

2. 2 Joint Research Centre - JRC The JRC (Seville) is the in-house science service of the European Comission. Our main goal is to support policy making in Europe via research evidence. We have over 100 policy reports published in the field of education, to include reports on Open Education, area in which we locate our blockchain study.  It can be downloaded from: http://bit.ly/openeduframework   

1. Joint Research Centre the European Commission's in-house science service Blockchain in Education A study on the digital accreditation of personal and academic learning Andreia Inamorato dos Santos @aisantos Groningen, The Netherlands 5th September 2017

2. 2 Joint Research Centre - JRC The JRC (Seville) is the in-house science service of the European Comission. Our main goal is to support policy making in Europe via research evidence. We have over 100 policy reports published in the field of education, to include reports on Open Education, area in which we locate our blockchain study.  It can be downloaded from: http://bit.ly/openeduframework   

"As smartphones have become more common, educators have struggled with the question of what to do with smartphones in the classroom. For K-12 educators, the answer has been to ban smartphones from the classroom completely."

A study conducted by researchers in Singapore found that undergraduate students who were allowed to keep their phones with them actually scored better on tasks that measured their cognitive functioning. Even when they weren’t allowed to use their phones, students who were allowed to keep their phones in their pockets performed better than students whose phones were confiscated.

As teachers, we need to take into account in which moments it is necessary to use the cell phones within the classrooms and which situations is essential confiscate them. Furthermore, we need to consider the age of the students and the subject that we are teaching.

Earlier this year, a piece from the Edutopia website was doing the rounds under the title "5 highly effective teaching practices". I automatically question pieces like this as I doubt somewhat whether the purpose of the piece is actually to raise standards in the profession and develop teachers - or whether it is simply to…

The Feynman Technique is perfect for learning a new idea, understanding an existing idea better, remembering an idea, or studying for a test. The Feynman Technique is a mental model that was coined by Nobel-prize winning physicist Richard Feynman. Known as the "Great Explainer," Feynman was revered for his ability to clearly illustrate dense topics…

By attempting to explain a concept in simple terms, you’ll quickly see where you have a good understanding of that concept. You’ll also be able to instantly pinpoint your problem areas, because they’ll be the areas where you either get stuck or where you end up resorting to using complex language and terminology. In addition to helping you pinpoint those problem areas in the concept you’re trying to learn, the Feynman Technique gives you a quick, efficient way to shore up those areas using targeted learning. It’s a simple technique, but it’ll help you study much more efficiently once you put into action. How to Use the Feynman Technique: Step 1: Grab a sheet of paper and write the name of the concept at the top. You can use pretty much any concept or idea – even though the technique is named after Feynman, it’s not limited solely to math and science. Step 2: Explain the concept in your own words as if you were teaching it to someone else. Focus on using plain, simple language. Don’t limit your explanation to a simple definition or a broad overview; challenge yourself to work through an example or two as well to ensure you can put the concept into action. Step 3: Review your explanation and identify the areas where you didn’t know something or where you feel your explanation is shaky. Once you’ve pinpointed them, go back to the source material, your notes, or any examples you can find in order to shore up your understanding. Step 4: If there are any areas in your explanation where you’ve used lots of technical terms or complex language, challenge yourself to re-write these sections in simpler terms. Make sure your explanation could be understood by someone without the knowledge base you believe you already have. Step 5: think like a child; while you’re working through the Feynman Technique for any given concept, it can be useful to pretend that you’re explaining that concept to a child. Doing this will boost your own understanding for one simple reason; a kid is probably going ask why? Why does that formula work? How can you know it`ll always work? While older people often become accustomed to taking things at face value, kids are naturally curious. They’re quick to point out their confusion. This is a great mindset to adopt.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.